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After releasing the beta version of Opera Mini 4.2 at the beginning of the month, Opera Software released the final version of its much-anticipated browser for mobile phones. Since the launch of the beta version of Opera Mini 4.2, speed trials have shown that this version gives more than 30% speed improvements for users in the US, due to the addition of a new Opera Mini server park in the United States.

Opera Mini Software enables you to take your full Web experience to your phone. You can now stay in touch with your friends on Facebook, search with Google, get your email on the go and do you online banking. As you can see, there are no limits, as the Opera Mini is the quick, easy and secure way to get any Web page you want.

This release also makes the browser available on the latest version of the Android mobile platform, so Opera Mini is the first Web browser alternative on Android. There was a technical preview of Opera Mini that was previously released for an earlier version of Android in April 2008. The good news is that all of you out there who are using Android-powered mobile phones, such as the T-Mobile G1, can download whenever they want to, a beta version of Opera Mini 4.2 and experience a faster and less costly way to browse the full Internet.

“With Opera Mini 4.2, we are showing the world that Opera never gets complacent. We will always be improving our product, adding speed, new functionality and features, and ensuring that it is accessible by all”, says Jon von Tezchner, Opera Software. “Our support of the Android platform helps fulfill our mission to be available on more platforms, for more devices and reach more users, anywhere in the world”.

With the Opera Mini 4.2, people can experience more language versions and skin selections to personalize the look and feel of the browser. Opera Mini is renowned for its speed, as data is compressed before it is sent to the phone. This helps to keep end-user costs low, since the data delivered is kept to a minimum.

Therefore, the features that people will experience once they download the new Opera Mini software include: more than 90 language versions, such as the recently added Amharic, Armenian, Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Kirghiz, Lingala, Marathi, Malayalam, Mongolian, Oriya, Punjabi, Pashto, Sinhala, Tajik, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, Uzbek, Khmer, Kashmiri, Lao and Turkmen (many of which I have never heard of before, I might say), funky new skins for everyone to personalize the look of the Opera Mini, Opera Link support for notes, allowing users to sync their notes between the PC and Opera Mini and improved real time streaming protocol (RTSP) handoff, which increases the number of phones with support for mobile video.

Opera Mini 4.2 is available for download at Opera’s official website. In addition, Opera also announced today that people using the Sprint Instinct can upgrade their firmware and download Opera Mini.

Labels: Mobile web

Microsoft today has put up the Internet Explorer Mobile 6 Emulator for developer to test the new Internet Explorer Mobile 6. The Windows Mobile, with version 6.1.4 includes the new Internet Explorer Mobile 6 and can be used with Visual Studio 2005 or 2008.

Here is a list of the new features you can expect to see in the

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Improved fidelity (support for full fidelity desktop rendering)
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Layout fixes to accommodate a mobile screen (text wrap)
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Enhanced Script and AJAX support (Jscript v5.7 from Internet Explorer 8)
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Improved multimedia experience (Adobe Flash Lite 3.1 for Adobe Flash content)
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Deeper integration with search
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Enhanced cursor navigation model
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Touch and gesture support - pan support
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Multiple zoom levels
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Easy switching between mobile / desktop versions of sites by specifying UA strings.

Labels: Mobile web

Chief Executive of Mozilla, John Lilly has revealed in an interview that the company is ready to release Firefox Mobile in few weeks time. “We want to make sure that the Web on mobile is more like the Web than what the mobile industry offers today, which is closed, separate networks and not a very good information-getting experience for the user. The first thing is to bring Firefox to mobile devices. We’re working on that, and we’ll see some alphas in a few weeks.” said John Lilly.

This is not the first time we heard about Firefox Mobile and its developer might have already been working on the firefox mobile at least one year ago.

Labels: Mobile web

The Opera Mobile 9.5 public beta version will finally be available on July 15. This was announced recently by Opera after an extensive delay left everyone hanging as to when they can experience the new mobile web browser’s added features and improvements.

Initially introduced in January, the Opera 9.5 had to be kept under wraps for some time to ensure its overall reliability and conformity with the Web’s latest and most advanced standards. The new 9.5, which is based on the desktop version, has been initially test-driven on HTC Touch Diamond mobile devices. Opera wanted to completely see how the browser would work on one specific phone before releasing it for use with other phone varieties.

The Opera 9.5 public beta version boasts of an intuitive user interface that provides for easy navigation and an overall convenient Web browsing experience. Other features that contribute to this end are tabbed browsing, improved text wrap, page overview, zooming and panning, landscape mode availability, saving of web pages for offline use, history and bookmarks, and Flash and Opera Widgets support. The new Opera 9.5 should be a lot faster than previous versions owing to its new Presto rendering engine.

You can download Opera Mobile Beta 9.5 for Windows Mobile Pocket PC phones over on the XDA-Developers site. They’re the first team to release a fully functional free Windows Mobile web browser. They’ve included every function that I’ve been waiting for and made the first browser capable of matching Safari Mobile’s interface for the iPhone.


The features include:

* Double-click Zoom
* Smooth touch based panning
* Finger-friendly interface for panning and menus.
* Tabs! Not kidding.
* Copy and Paste to other Windows Applications
* Plugin Architecture that allows for adding ‘Opera Widgets’
* Fixed form entry

Labels: Mobile web

Opera Mini 4.1 is now available as a full release, having previously been available only as a beta product. One of the most popular mobile web browsers, Opera Mini is compatible with most handsets on the market and brings a full desktop browsing experience to your mobile phone.

Opera Mini 4.1 features quite a few shortcuts that are designed to make browsing a much faster and easier experience. You can sync your bookmarks with your desktop computer, if you use Opera on your desktop, and you can setup speed dials to quickly take you to your favorite websites. The address bar also offers up likely matches, in an attempt to reduce the amount of typing you have to do to get where you want to go.

Opera Mini 4.1 routes your web browsing through the Opera servers, which compress everything to use less data for users on limited plans, but also speeding things up. Opera Mini 4.1 is a free download, simply point your phone's existing web browser to www.operamini.com to download.

Post by Mobile Review

Labels: Mobile web

Unfortunately since many years Microsoft is not offering such application anymore (it was available from Microsoft for Windows Mobile 2003), so it is good to see that it is available now as 3rd party FREEWARE application - My Mobiler. Completely FREE!

My Mobiler has been recently (previous month) updated, and new version has been released, so we concluded that it is good opportunity to review it!

My Mobiler actually is an application for Windows XP and Windows Vista, that makes it possible to see and control display of your Windows Mobile phone on your PC:

As you can see this application runs on PC but it has also a component on Windows Mobile (note the icon "MyMobiler" above!). Here is what happens when one opens MyMobiler inside of Windows Mobile:


Above you can see that mini-icon on the home-screen is also appearing for MyMobiler - for easy access.

Unfortunately in some cases, like some games and mobile TV:


... this application is not displaying properly (above: TV broadcast is missing, only OSD/On-Screen-Display is visible).

To learn more or to download for FREE this remote control and display application for Windows Mobile, please visit: http://www.mymobiler.com!

Post by Mobile Review

Labels: Mobile web

Indian Mobile Company Spice is back in news as they are now first Indian handset manufacturer to offer PC-like full web browsing experience with Opera Mini. Opera is quite famous in India as it’s in rest of the world, when it comes to web browsing, be it mobile phone or personal computers. Embedding Opera mini into devices will enable Spice users to experience full featured web browsing on their handsets.

CEO of Spice Mobiles, Kunal Ahooja said,

Opera Mini offers a competitive edge to Spice Mobile. With Opera Mini, our users will be able to access any web site they desire. The functionality will keep users in touch with the world while on the move. Moreover, the Opera Mini browser ensures desktop-like experience as it automatically customizes the size and look of web sites to fit the mobile screen.


Post by Mobile Review

Labels: Mobile web, Software

At the DEMO 08 conference, Skyfire unveiled a new mobile browser that makes browsing on a smartphone just like browsing on a PC. Smartphone users can experience the “real web” to access and interact with any website built with any web technology, including dynamic Flash, advanced Ajax, Java and more - at the same speeds they are accustomed to on their PC. With this free downloadable browser, users can watch videos from the real YouTube, stay connected with their friends on the full-feature PC versions of Facebook and MySpace, and listen to any Web music service like Last.fm.

The power behind the service is accomplished by a proxy browser that translates all the web browser add-ons into a more mobile experience. Rafe Needleman at News.com wrote about Skyfire, “Although I think that proxied browsing is the right solution for mobile devices, I am not convinced that there’s a solid business behind it.”

Users will not have to change their Web behavior on their smartphones because Skyfire allows them to access the same Web content, and interact with that content, exactly as they do on their PC. When users load their favorite sites, they will not encounter unrecognizable content, unfamiliar page layouts, or missing content, like they have with other mobile browsers. To date, Skyfire is the fastest loading mobile browser on the market.

“Many sophisticated technologies are launched at DEMO, and in my many years of hosting the event, it’s the simple and elegant products like Skyfire which seem to have the most staying power,” said Chris Shipley, executive producer of the DEMO conferences. “Mobile browsing has not advanced at the same rate as other mobile technologies, so I am delighted to see Skyfire bring a new product to market which directly addresses one of the biggest pain points in the mobile experience today.”

Skyfire has broken down the two primary barriers for Internet adoption on smartphones - speed and user experience. Recent studies point to the demand for mobile content, but the browsing experience has hindered the potential growth. As prices continue to drop, more users will adopt the full functionality offered by smartphones. According to ABI Research, 115 million smartphones were to be shipped in 2007, and that number will rise to 410 million by 2012.

“Skyfire’s ability to support Flash video can give a shot in the arm to consumption of video on smartphones which currently stands at 18.4 percent,” said Seamus McAteer, senior analyst, M:Metrics. “Technologies that improve the user experience of mobile applications will bolster the adoption of mobile media as it becomes increasingly mainstream.”

Skyfire includes numerous features aimed at simplifying the mobile browsing experience. For example, when a user conducts a Web search from the home page, Skyfire pulls results from multiple search engines and displays the results in multiple tabs that consumers can easily navigate. In addition, users can bookmark specific locations on a Web page to get to the content that matters most to them in one click - such as stock quotes, sports scores, blog messages, etc. Skyfire’s user interface features full screen navigation, thumbnail views and zooming to seamlessly resize the Web content to fit the mobile screen.

Skyfire Technology Skyfire’s patent-pending technology is the foundation of Skyfire’s unique ability to support all Web technologies, both current and future, at speeds comparable to the PC. With Skyfire’s proprietary technology, supporting any new Web standard becomes a seamless user experience without the need to upgrade to new releases. This technology allows Skyfire to support real Web browsing while saving precious bandwidth and reducing processing power and memory needed on the phone.

Private Beta Announced Skyfire announced a private beta to support Windows Mobile phones, both touchscreen and non-touchscreen, in the U.S.. The company will introduce a version for Symbian smartphones in the coming months and other platforms and geographies are on the product roadmap. Users can sign-up for the private beta by visiting www.skyfire.com.

Skyfire was founded by Bhandari and CTO Erik Swenson in April 2006, and has been in stealth mode under the name DVC Labs until today. Based in Mountain View, Calif., the team includes engineering veterans from Adobe, Creative, eBay, Extreme Networks, MobiTV, Pinnacle, and Shutterfly.

About Skyfire Skyfire is the creator of the Skyfire mobile browser, which extends the PC Web to mobile phones so users can experience the mobile Web exactly like they do on their PC. The company was founded in 2006 by Nitin Bhandari and Erik Swenson, who serve as CEO and CTO respectively. Skyfire is backed by Trinity Ventures and Matrix Partners and has raised $4.8 million in total funding. For more information about the company, visit www.skyfire.com.

Post by Mobile Review

Labels: Mobile web

Opera Software announced that Korea-based POSBRO has selected the Opera browser for what is labelled the world's first portable WiMax gaming device. The POSBRO G100 takes advantage of the high data speeds offered by WiMax (4G) to deliver online gaming from a portable device. POSBRO used the Opera 9 for Devices SDK to create a compelling Web experience for people using the G100 device.

The device features a four-inch LCD touchscreen, with a slide-out game pad. In addition to WiMax, the G100 also supports connectivity via Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Users can take advantage of the network speeds to play advanced, online games with multiple players in a graphich-rich environments, in addition to accessing their favorite Web sites.

OSBRO has signed agreements with the Korean mobile WiMax operator KT to provide an online gaming service via G100 starting in early 2008. The company has also announced that the G100 will be launching in the United States in the beginning of 4Q 2008 or late 1Q 2009. The G100 was demonstrated at SPRINT's booth at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas earlier this month.

POSBRO was founded in September 2006 and acquired by POSDATA as a strategic base camp for WiMAX hand-held device development and service integration. The companies have been positioned as a total WiMAX solution provider in the market that covers mobile WiMAX base stations, ASN-gateways and user devices.

Labels: Mobile web